Productivity

Wouldn't it be wonderful if whenever your book writing stalled, whether through procrastination or "writer's block," you could simply pull out a piece of paper that had a Magic Formula on it--written just for you--that would help jump start your writing, again? Well, I'm going to show you how to create your own Magic Formula that will help you break through any writing issue or block you may have.

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Study Your Writing Habits

The first step in creating a Magic Formula powerful enough to banish procrastination and blast through writers' block is to identify the specific thoughts, feelings, and actions that help open up your creativity and inspire writing in flow, and those that get in the way of your creative process.

To do this, pick a period of time to study your writing habits. It could be a week, 10 days, or a month--the longer the better. For this period of time, it's important to:

have a notepad by your side when you write

journal every evening (or as often as you can)

When writing, or reflecting back on your day and journaling, be aware of and write down what thoughts, feelings, and actions:

encourage you to sit down and write

help you keep going when other ideas or interests try to pull you away, or you feel like giving up

motivate you to push through to a deeper level of creativity and writing

Be as specific as you can.

On the flip side, be aware of and write down what thoughts, feelings, and actions:

seem more important (or immediate) than writing and entice you to stop writing or to put it off

get you so frustrated that you stop writing or change projects mid-stream

have you feeling "not good enough" to write or submit your work

Be as specific as you can.

At the end of the month (or whatever period of time you choose) you'll have a detailed map of your writing life.

The next step is to go through your notes and journal entries, and pull out all the specific details you have about what helps and what hinders your writing. Make a list of each with your favorite writing encouragers or discouragers on top.

Once this is done, I want you to do two things:

Keep the list of everything that helps and encourages you nearby whenever you write.

Take the list of what gets in your way and create a "Magic Formula" for each item.

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Your Personal Magic Formula for Writing Success!

Begin your Magic Formula by saying, "Whenever I think, feel, or do this (what gets in your way)... I'm going to think, feel, or do this instead (its positive opposite or whatever would help you in this situation), BECAUSE... (your experience of how the positive thought, feeling, or action helps you or what it inspires you to feel).

For instance... if you want to write, but have trouble getting yourself to sit down and start when you don't feel inspired (and you often don't feel inspired), then create a Magic Formula that looks something like this:

Whenever I want to write, but don't feel inspired, I'm going to WRITE ANYWAY for 15 minutes because when I do, the act of writing, itself, opens the flow of inspiration within me almost every time.

The last part is what's called your "why." It's very important because just saying "when this happens, I'm going to do that instead" can feel like a rule, like something you SHOULD do, which often only inspires resistance. Adding the positive "why" changes it into something you WANT to do. It gives you a reason to feel hopeful and believe success is possible. Defining your "why" is often what makes the difference between spending your time dancing with procrastination or wrestling with writer's block, and actually writing your book.

It's January 1st and a new year is HERE! As you look back on your 2013 goals, celebrate your accomplishments and learn from both what worked for you and what didn't. NOW, looking forward, what daily writing goal are you willing to commit to starting on January 1st (or on any day you choose to begin) for the next 100 days?

Your writing goal can be:

The number of minutes or hours per day that you're going to write

The number of words or pages per day that you're going to produce

The number of scenes or sections per day that you're going to complete

Consistency is the key to success when pursuing a long term goal. Don't be afraid to experiment with the amount of time, or content, that you're committing to in order to discover the amount that challenges and stretches you, without putting you into overwhelm

I've designed a 100 Day Writing Challengetracking sheet that you can use for this, or any 100 Day Writing Challenge. I've printed my sheet on card stock so it will last 100 days.

You can also use the 100 Day Challenge to build your author's platform or promote your book. Your promotional goal can be:

Do 1 to 3 things every day to promote your book (interview, article, networking, etc.)

Write 100 blog posts in 100 days

Post daily to Twitter and Facebook

Create an opt-in offer, and drive traffic to it daily to build your email list

Depending on what your writing or promotional commitment is, you can put a check mark in the day's box; the number of hours, words, or pages you've written; or the number of promotional tasks you've done. Since my commitment is to work an hour a day on an ebook I'm writing, I'm going to put a check mark in the box for an hour's writing, and the number of hours I wrote if I went longer.

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The 100 Day Writing Challenge

There are three ways you can do a 100 Day Writing Challenge. Pick the one that feels both inspiring and fun to you, or create your own challenge.

The Positive Reinforcement Method

In this writing challenge, you only keep track of the days you write. Every day you meet your goal, put a check mark in one of the boxes. If you miss a day, it's not recorded on the sheet in any way. In other words, if you wrote seven of the first ten days then the first seven boxes would have a check mark in them, and then whenever you wrote next you'd put a check mark in day eight. So the challenge sheet would keep track of 100 writing days, no matter how many days it took you to achieve this.

PROS: Since you're only keeping track of your successes--of the days that you write--this method gives you a powerful dose of positive reinforcement. If you can't write every day, let's say your commitment is to write three days a week, then this can give you a sense of accomplishment over time. You'll see how those three days add up over the weeks and months that you're working on a project.

CONS: Since you're not keeping track of how many days you missed in-between writing days, it could have been one day, or it could have been five days. You want to be careful to stay consistent and make an effort to write every day (or however many days you're committed to) so that you don't lose momentum.

The Box a Day Method

In this writing challenge, you fill in a box every day whether it's with a check mark to show that you wrote, or an X to show that you didn't write. So your 100 Day Writing Challenge will take 100 days, no matter how many of those days you actually write.

PROS: By keeping track of how many days you write, and how many you don't, you get a real sense of your writing habits. You also have a visual incentive to get you (and keep you) writing. If you see that you've missed two days in a row, you're more likely to write on that third day than if you weren't keeping track.

CONS: If you see that you've missed more days than you feel comfortable with, it could have the effect of discouraging you. If this should happen, throw the tracking sheet away!

The 100 Days or Bust Method

To complete this challenge, you must write for 100 days straight. This means that if you miss a day, no matter how far along in the challenge you may be, you have to start all over again at day one.

PROS: This will kick you into gear! I've done it. Once you've had to start over a couple of times you will do ANYTHING to complete your commitment for the day. If you're not feeling well, you'll do it. If you have company, you'll do it. If you get into bed and then realize you haven't written, yet, you'll get out of bed and do it. It's an amazing learning experience, and habit builder.

CONS: The larger your commitment, the less this works. There will often be days when you're about to go to sleep and realize you haven't written, yet. On those days, you may be able to push through and write for half an hour, or even an hour, but I doubt you could push through and write for three hours. And yet... this challenge might be just the incentive you need to get you to start writing earlier in the day. As always, do whatever works for you.

It's important that you find a writing practice that works for you. Whenever you try something new, look at it as an experiment. After playing with it for awhile, ask yourself: "Is it helping and inspiring me, getting in my way, or not having much effect at all?" Be honest about what doesn't work for you, and be willing to let it go in order to find what does work.

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How are you going to celebrate your accomplishment?

The last thing to consider in a 100 Day Writing Challenge is the word that sits alone at the bottom of the challenge tracking sheet--Celebrate!

Before thinking about how you'll celebrate the completion of the challenge, think about what you'll be celebrating. Yes, you'll be celebrating:

100 days of writing

a new (or stronger) habit of productivity

the completion of the book you're working on (or, at least, completion of a substantial portion of it)

new insights and understanding about your writing process

But what does this mean to you? How will it make you feel? How will it change how you see yourself? How will it change how others see you? How will it change your business?

Take the 2 or 3 strongest results from the questions above, and list them to the left of the word, "Celebrate," on the bottom of your tracking sheet. Then, to the right of the word, list how you would like to celebrate the completion of the challenge--and make it a celebration or reward worthy of your accomplishment. Make it something you want and are looking forward to, something worth writing for.

Use this challenge to help launch your writing goals for 2014. To inspire and prod you. To challenge and encourage you. But most of all--to get you writing!

If you have any questions about the 100 day writing challenge, let me know. If you'd like some coaching and support around writing, product creation, platform building, or promotion to start 2014 off WRITE. You can get more info about my coaching and consulting services here.

I got my first "O: The Oprah Magazine" in the mail today, and on the cover it says, "Tame Your To-Do List: Expert Advice on Making it Shorter, Smarter, Easier."

Oprah is so right. Making your To-Do List more manageable should be the #1 task on everyone's To-Do List, especially writers.

One of the biggest obstacles I see so many writers face is the feeling of overwhelm. As you juggle various writing projects, platform building, book promotion, blogging, social media, family, and the many other joys and obligations of life, it can literally make your head spin.

For the last two years my To-Do List has been more than overflowing with tasks related to the book, Your Ultimate Life Plan, by Dr. Jennifer Howard. I helped write the book proposal, edit the book, and now I'm on her book promotion team. Add all that to my own writing projects and there's always SO MUCH TO DO!!!!

So here's my expert advice, based on many years of grappling with To-Do Lists that fill page after page after page after page.

If it feels like you have 1000
things to do and only a small amount of time to do them in, and your head starts spinning, take a deep breath and...

Pull out a piece of paper.

Make a list of those 1000, no… 350,
no… 14 things you think you have to do today (whatever's on your mind goes on the paper).

Write what feels like the three most important tasks on a separate piece of paper (perhaps an index card or even a post-it note), and put your original list away—out of sight.

To be clear, I don't mean for you to put "write my book" on your Top 3List. Break all your large goals into smaller goals--bite-sized chunks you can get done within the amount of time you have to work today--so instead of "write my book," put, "write introduction" or "write 2nd section of 3rd chapter."

Do the first task on your Top 3 List. Complete
it (or get as far as you can, today).

Do the second task on the list.
Complete
it (or get as far as you can, today).

Do the third task on the list.
Complete
it (or get as far as you can, today).

When all three tasks are done,
pull your big list out of it's hiding place, and decide which are the next three tasks you’re going to
do.

Writing down and organizing ALL of your writing and book related tasks, makes it easier to get everything done, because it lessens your sense of overwhelm and confusion, helps you focus in on and get specific about what needs to be done for your current project (as well as for your long-term goals), and gives you a step-by-step action plan that helps you move steadily forward.

There will always be a lot, often
too much, to do. Yet, in any given moment, you can only do one thing at a
time—what’s right in front of you. Your Top 3 List might take you a day or more to complete, or you could go through several in a day. Either way, with only three things to do instead of fifty, it doesn't feel so overwhelming.

Multitasking divides your focus,
and dilutes your energy. It’s better to give whatever you’re working on your undivided
attention, even when you’re juggling several writing projects, or are doing
marketing as well as writing. When you're fully focused on the task at hand, it goes
more quickly and easily, and you’re more likely to finish it. You'll be
more efficient and effective this way—and get a lot more done.

While To Do lists can be a useful productivity tool and help you focus in on and accomplish all the many activities that go along with a writing career, they can also--far too easily--become a source of stress and self-condemnation that dampens your creativity and sabotages your productivity.

This happens in several ways:

When you feel that you "have to" do something, even if you know it's important for your writing or even essential for promoting your book, it can bring up a feeling of resistance, which makes accomplishing what you want to do even harder. Just putting something on your To Do list can make it a "have to" in your mind.

Because your To Do list is filled with things you truly need to do, you can feel a sense of pressure (or the potential for negative consequences) whenever you think of your list. You may worry that if you don't complete what's on your list, it will cause you problems.

If your day is "getting away from you," and you haven't gotten to your list, yet, you can feel the pressure of it, or judge yourself because of it.

When you get to the end of your day and haven't done, or completed, something or everything on your list, you can feel like you failed. You set a goal for yourself, and didn't achieve it.

Your relationship with your To Do list is everything. If you see it, primarily, as an organizational tool that can help you be more focused and productive, moving your writing and promotional activities forward, you'll probably be alright. But if you see it as a taskmaster, as a list of things you "have to" do or "should" do, you're more likely to run into the above thoughts and feelings.

If you've turned your To Do list into a taskmaster, the quickest and easiest way to turn it back into a fun and useful productivity tool is to reframe it and rename it. Your To Do list is now your Treasure Map! The best part is that it's absolutely true. Your To Do list IS a treasure map, which, when followed, will take you to the writing success that you long for.

Do you want to write a book? Create a Treasure Map to put that book in your hands.

Do you want to build your author's platform or promote your book? Create a Treasure Map, and follow it to establish a large and loyal following.

Seeing what you used to call a To Do list as a Treasure Map does several powerful things:

It makes productivity fun.

It changes your focus from what you "have to" do, to what you "want to" do, which changes your energy and makes doing the work much easier.

It keeps your focus on the Treasure! By keeping your goal in front of you at all times, you're constantly reminded WHY you're on this journey, and that keeps you motivated.

Your constant focus on the Treasure, on the outcome, puts the Law of Attraction into action in a positive and powerful way for you.

Because you're focused on the outcome that you want, it makes you more open, eager, and willing to do all that is needed to achieve your dream.

And best of all, it turns the journey into a grand adventure.

If you're having trouble getting to, or completing, the items on your To Do list, throw your list away! Create a Treasure Map, instead, and name the treasure you desire.

You can name it the title of your book: My "Unleash Your Writing Genius!" Treasure Map.

You can name it what you're trying to achieve: My Full-Time Book Author Treasure Map.

You can name it how much money you want to make: My $10,000 per month Treasure Map.

Whatever your goal is, name it and place it on your treasure map. As you keep your goal in front of you, surrounded by fun and forward moving energy, you'll get more done more easily than you ever thought possible.

Try it and see.

Productivity isn't the only aspect of your writing career that can be perceived and experienced in a new more joyful, open and creative way. You can transform your relationship with promotion, too. Read my post on Writing Success Secret #1: Book Promotion Can Be FUN!

What do you do to find the fun in, or make peace with, the aspects of your writing career that support your ultimate goals and are essential to your success, but may not be your favorite parts of the process?

I'm jumping into ebooks full force, starting with launching three "true" short story ebooks on Amazon in January, which I'm putting the finishing touches on, now. I've even updated my About Julie page and added the ebook covers.

What daily writing goal are you willing to commit to for the next 100 days to start bringing your 2012 goals to life?

Your writing goal can be:

The number of minutes or hours per day that you're going to write

The number of words or pages per day that you're going to produce

The number of scenes or sections per day that you're going to complete

Consistency is the key to success when pursuing a long term goal. Don't be afraid to experiment with the amount of time, or content, that you're committing to in order to discover the amount that challenges and stretches you, without putting you into overwhelm

I've designed a 100 Day Writing Challengetracking sheet that you can use for this, or any 100 Day Writing Challenge. I've printed my sheet on card stock so it will last 100 days.

You can also use the 100 Day Challenge to build your author's platform or promote your book. Your promotional goal can be:

Do 1 to 3 things every day to promote your book (interview, article, networking, etc.)

Write 100 blog posts in 100 days

Post daily to Twitter and Facebook

Create an opt-in offer, and drive traffic to it daily to build your email list

Depending on what your writing or promotional commitment is, you can put a check mark in the day's box; the number of hours, words, or pages you've written; or the number of promotional tasks you've done. Since my commitment is to work an hour a day on an ebook I'm writing, I'm going to put a check mark in the box for an hour's writing, and the number of hours I wrote if I went longer.

There are three ways you can do a 100 Day Writing Challenge.

The Positive Reinforcement Method: In this writing challenge, you only keep track of the days you write. Every day you meet your goal, put a check mark in one of the boxes. If you miss a day, it's not recorded on the sheet in any way. In other words, if you wrote seven of the first ten days then the first seven boxes would have a check mark in them, and then whenever you wrote next you'd put a check mark in day eight. So the challenge sheet would keep track of 100 writing days, no matter how many days it took you to achieve this.

PROS: Since you're only keeping track of your successes--of the days that you write--this method gives you a powerful dose of positive reinforcement. If you can't write every day, let's say your commitment is to write three days a week, then this can give you a sense of accomplishment over time. You'll see how those three days add up over the weeks and months that you're working on a project.

CONS: Since you're not keeping track of how many days you missed in-between writing days, it could have been one day, or it could have been five days. You want to be careful to stay consistent and make an effort to write every day (or however many days you're committed to) so that you don't lose momentum.

The Box a Day Method: In this writing challenge, you fill in a box every day whether it's with a check mark to show that you wrote, or an X to show that you didn't write. So your 100 Day Writing Challenge will take 100 days, no matter how many of those days you actually write.

PROS: By keeping track of how many days you write, and how many you don't, you get a real sense of your writing habits. You also have a visual incentive to get you (and keep you) writing. If you see that you've missed two days in a row, you're more likely to write on that third day than if you weren't keeping track.

CONS: If you see that you've missed more days than you feel comfortable with, it could have the effect of discouraging you. If this should happen, throw the tracking sheet away!

It's important that you find a writing practice that works for you. Whenever you try something new, look at it as an experiment. After playing with it for awhile, ask yourself: "Is it helping and inspiring me, getting in my way, or not having much effect at all?" Be honest about what doesn't work for you, and be willing to let it go in order to find what does work.

The 100 Days or Bust Method: To complete this challenge, you must write for 100 days straight. This means that if you miss a day, no matter how far along in the challenge you may be, you have to start all over again at day one.

PROS: This will kick you into gear! I've done it. Once you've had to start over a couple of times you will do ANYTHING to complete your commitment for the day. If you're not feeling well, you'll do it. If you have company, you'll do it. If you get into bed and then realize you haven't written, yet, you'll get out of bed and do it. It's an amazing learning experience, and habit builder.

CONS: The larger your commitment, the less this works. There will often be days when you're about to go to sleep and realize you haven't written, yet. On those days, you may be able to push through and write for half an hour, or even an hour, but I doubt you could push through and write for three hours. And yet... this challenge might be just the incentive you need to get you to start writing earlier in the day. As always, do whatever works for you.

The last thing to consider in a 100 Day Writing Challenge is the word that sits alone at the bottom of the challenge tracking sheet--Celebrate!

Before thinking about how you'll celebrate the completion of the challenge, think about what you'll be celebrating. Yes, you'll be celebrating:

100 days of writing

a new (or stronger) habit of productivity

the completion of the book you're working on (or, at least, completion of a substantial portion of it)

new insights and understanding about your writing process

But what does this mean to you? How will it make you feel? How will it change how you see yourself? How will it change how others see you? How will it change your business?

Take the 2 or 3 strongest results from the questions above, and list them to the left of the word, "Celebrate," on the bottom of your tracking sheet. Then, to the right of the word, list how you would like to celebrate the completion of the challenge--and make it a celebration or reward worthy of your accomplishment. Make it something you want and are looking forward to, something worth writing for.

Use this challenge to meet your writing goals for 2011. To inspire and prod you. To challenge and encourage you. But most of all--to get you writing!

If you have any questions about the 100 day writing challenge, let me know.

If you'd like some coaching and support around writing, blogging, ebooks, platform building, or promotion to start 2012 off strong, I offer new clients an introductory hour-long coaching session for $50 (that's 60% my normal hourly rate). You can get more info here.

Whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo and are racing to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, or you simply want to establish a daily (or regular) writing routine, these writing tips will make it easier to meet your goal.

1. Make a commitment

There’s a difference between a goal and a commitment. A goal is something you decide to do. While a commitment is the passionate sense of dedication you feel that keeps you glued to your goal, day after day after day, until it’s completed.

Years ago, I woke up with these words dancing in my head:

Without commitment, discipline is impossible With commitment, discipline is inevitable

It’s not enough to want to write every day, or even to decide to write every day, you have to make a deep and firm commitment to yourself and to your writing if you’re going to succeed.

2. Make a list of the top 10 reasons why you want to write daily

Keeping your commitment to write every day is easier when you have strong and clear reasons why you’re writing. So make a list of what you want to get out of a daily writing practice:

Create a strong habit of writing

Open more easily to inspiration

Master the craft of writing

Also list what you hope to accomplish through the completed project, whether it’s a book, a series of articles or blog posts, or something else. Put on your list how you hope your completed project will help you, as well as your readers.

For yourself:

Build your credibility

Complete a book you can feel proud of

Build up your blog content, and boost your readership

Earn money from your writing

Promote yourself, your book, or your business

For your reader:

entertain and educate people, helping them see themselves and others more clearly

make people laugh, cry--feel

walk people step-by-step through the process of learning what you know

Read your list often. The stronger (and more deeply felt) your reasons “why,” the more committed you'll feel and the easier it will be to keep your commitment.

3. Make writing your top priority

This may seem obvious, but don’t assume that because you love to write you’ve made writing a top priority.

Here’s a test to find out if you have or not:

Do you write, no matter what?

Do you write first, and let everything else come later?

If you’re not inspired, do you sit down and write anyway?

When you get a rejection, does that fuel you to do better and submit more?

Do you do all of these on a consistent basis?

The stronger your commitment, the easier it is to truly make writing a top priority and to live the above actions and attitudes as a way of life.

4. Write first!

How often do you find yourself saying, “I’ll write as soon as I finish … (the dishes, my favorite TV show, organizing my desk, etc., etc., ad infinitum)” And how often does the day slip by without you doing any writing (or very little)?

There’s only one way to answer both of the above questions with “never,” (or at least “rarely”), and that is to Write First!

Let the dishes sit in the sink for an hour… Write First!

Record your favorite TV show… Write First!

Let the piles of paper on your desk get a little dustier… Write First!

When you Write First! your world not only doesn’t fall apart, it usually goes better. It goes better because you feel good about yourself, and your writing. It goes better because things get done in the time you have. It’s one of those weird truisms that the less time you have to get something done, the more focused and productive you become. So don’t be afraid to Write First!

5. Break your daily goal into smaller goals

The bigger your daily writing goal, the more likely you are to put it off. While the smaller your daily writing goal (or pieces thereof), the more likely you are to get it done.

Think about it:

It’s easier to squeeze a fifteen-minute writing session into a busy day than to find a free hour to write. Do this four times a day, and you’ve written for an hour.

It’s easier to imagine writing two hundred and fifty words in one sitting than a thousand. Again, do this four times a day, and you’ve written a thousand words.

It's easier to write a specific scene or subsection of your chapter to completion in one sitting than to write an entire chapter.

The smaller the goal, the less your resistance. The less your resistance, the more likely you are to actually do it. If this seems like a trick to get you to sit down and write, you’re right. It is. If your goal is to write daily, there’s no law that says it all has to be done in one sitting.

The beauty of this little trick is that it has lots of treats for you:

The smaller your writing goal, the most easily you’ll complete it.

Completing a writing goal makes you feel good, builds your confidence, and makes it more likely you’ll write again, soon. Lots of little completions skyrocket all these good feelings.

Once you get started, you often write past your small amount of time or word count goal.

Even one short writing session a day helps you build a daily writing habit.

Small writing goals keep you writing consistently.

The more consistently you write, the more likely you are to grow your daily writing habit from 15 minutes to a half hour, and then on to an hour or more.

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If you'd like some help staying focused and writing regularly, or navigating the details of writing and promoting your book or ebook, please visit my Writing and Ebook Coaching page. I love helping authors build a strong foundation for their writing success.

I just posted a video I made based on a question I often get asked, "am I enough of an expert to write a book?" I did several takes of this video, and after one that seemed "good enough," I took a break and realized I was done filming for the day.

When I watched the video, I noticed several things I wasn't thrilled about. I said "you know" quite a few times (along with several "ums"). One of my laughs sounded strange. And while my thoughts seemed pretty clear, they jumped from here to there, and back again, more than I felt comfortable with. In other words, I was judging (and criticizing) myself right and left.

The video was by no means "perfect," which left me with a choice. Do I post it as is? Or do I wait and try to get a better take tomorrow?

I chose to take imperfect action. To get a video up, rather than try to create a perfect video.

After posting a link to my video on twitter, I got this response from Sunni Seckinger:

BrokenlyfeGreat video, I loved it! It gives me real hope that I CAN finish my book and share it with others :)

Because I chose imperfect action over perfectionism, I had the opportunity to touch another person's heart with my words. That's powerful. Sunni wasn't judging my "performance," she was listening to what I had to say, searching for ideas that would calm her fears and inspire her to move forward on her own book writing journey.

That's what we're all looking for when we read a blog post or watch a video. Information that will help, inform, or inspire us.

Having made and posted this imperfect video, tonight, I had the chance to connect with people who need what I have to give, and the video I make tomorrow will be better for it.

Time is a shape-shifter. A piece you think will only take an hour (or a week) to write takes five. Something you put off, and put off, and put off, because you think it will be a huge undertaking, goes quickly and easily once you get to it.

The number of hours per day may be set, but how you experience them, whether they fly by or drag on forever, whether you get a lot written or very little, can’t be predetermined. Time management is a living, moment-to-moment, interactive experience.

Whatever writing schedule you set, know that it’s merely an estimate and be ready to go with the creative flow.

Music can support your writing in many different ways. Music can create a mood, can become a ritual that turns your mind towards writing, or can distract the mind so that inspiration is free to flow through. Many people create special writing soundtracks that either put them into the feeling place of their story, or helps them to relax, focus, and open.

You can also use music as a productivity tool. If you listen to music CDs when you write, don’t turn the repeat button on for continuous play.Even if you have a favorite CD that you could write to all day long, listen only on regular play. That way, every 45 to 55 minutes when the music stops, or you realize that it’s off, you’re reminded to get up from your computer and stretch, walk around, get water, and take a break. It’s too easy to write for hours on end without budging from the computer, but it’s better for your body to get up every hour or so and move. Your music coming to an end is a gentle reminder.

Do you listen to music when you write? What type of music do you listen to?

"Don't let the struggle for a strong opening strangle your creativity. Many of the best first lines are written last. Too many writing projects never get past the first paragraph or page, because of this particular type of perfectionism. For a writer, the perfect opening is one that either propels you into the piece and gets you writing, or simply doesn't get in your way. Yes, you need a strong opening… eventually. But writing, even with a clear focus, is about discovery. Your finished piece may be very different than what you first imagined."

On twitter, one day, this tip started a conversation about the fine line between caring about craft and perfectionism. Where does polishing your writing end, and perfectionism begin? How can you tell the difference between the two, when perfectionism so often looks and feels like wanting your writing to be the best it can be. Isn't that a good thing? Isn't that professionalism?

To sort this out for myself,I did some brainstorming and came up with some subtle, and not so subtle, differences between the two…

PERFECTIONISM: Your writing's never good enough. PROFESSIONALISM: You want your writing to be the best it can be.

PERFECTIONISM: You often judge your writing harshly, and beat yourself up over it. PROFESSIONALISM: You have a sense of professionalism and pride in your work.

PERFECTIONISM: Trying to be "perfect" often slows your progress, or stops it cold. PROFESSIONALISM: As you polish your prose, you make steady progress and your writing gets better and better with each draft.

PERFECTIONISM: You spend hours agonizing over and editing EVERYTHING: emails, blog posts, and even comments you're making on other people's blogs, taking precious writing and editing time away from your primary project: your book, ebook, or novel. PROFESSIONALISM: You have a sense of appropriateness. While you always want to do your best, you know that your blog post doesn't need to go through as many drafts as your book.

PERFECTIONISM: You can't move forward until you get it right. So, if something "right" doesn't come when needed, you end up abandoning project after project.PROFESSIONALISM: If something isn't right and you can't quite get it, you feel free to move on because you know that you'll come back later and clean it up.

PERFECTIONISM: Causes frustration and tension, which closes down creativity. PROFESSIONALISM: Gives you a sense of confidence, which opens up creativity.

Although professionalism and perfectionism can sometimes look the same--like being concerned about writing well--there's a subtle and important difference between the two which can be seen and felt in how we relate to our writing, what we say to ourselves as we write (or about our writing), and how writing and editing makes us feel.

Does your caring about craft spill over into perfectionism at times?

Rarely or often?

What does your perfectionism look like?

EXERCISE: Make a list of what you do, or say to yourself about your writing, when you're caught up in perfectionism. Once that's done, for every item list an "antidote" or alternative--what you might do or say to yourself, instead, that's more self-loving and that will open up your creativity, rather than close it down.

In my interview with Mark David Gerson (the author of one of my favorite books on writing, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write) for The WritingSpirit Book Writers Community, we talked about perfectionism.

Mark David said:

We all carry little perfectionist genes in our bodies. We all want to get it right. The first thing I said to this group the other day was, "It's never going to be perfect. Period. End of story." It simply cannot be perfect. It can be the best you can make it, but it will never be perfect. There are all kinds of reasons we can go into for that, but it won't be perfect.

If you start at that place, then you polish it as much as you can, at a certain point I think you have to stop or you will be writing the same book the rest of your life, or the same paragraph, or the same sentence.

Mark David then went on to talk about the nature of ideas and why it's actually impossible to capture them perfectly.